Tug of War

In the summer of 1972, the final match of the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik saw the ultimate showdown: American Bobby Fischer challenged the reigning world champion, Boris Spassky from the Soviet Union. Touted by the media as the most important sporting event of the Cold War, an incomparable thriller unfolded...and now, you can be right in the middle of it.

In Match of the Century, you play one another over a series of games, just as in a real championship match. However, here each game lasts only a few short and intense turns, so every decision counts in pulling off the win. As you play cards with unique effects from your asymmetrical decks, each of you manipulates the mental endurance of the other and the outcome of each quick game, but weigh your options carefully because only by giving up the advantage can you use your cards' effects.

—description from the publisher

The island of Oshra is in turmoil. Following the death of the Emperor, the conflict between the Hill Tribes and the Imperial Army escalated. While the Water People try to maintain balance between the old rivals, the Undead aim to escalate the war. All hope rests on the six children of the Emperor: Who of them will claim the throne?

In Hidden Leaders, you take the role of one of six secret leaders, each of them is allied with two of the four factions/colors. By playing heroes into your tableau, either openly or secretly, you influence the outcome of the conflict.

At the end of the game, one of the four factions will win:

Red leading > Red victory
Green leading > Green victory
Tie between Red & Green > Blue victory
Red & Green in War Zone > Black victory

Each player who is aligned with the winning faction can claim the victory. However, they must have more heroes of this color than any competitor.

Hidden Leaders is a quick, light strategy card game with direct player interaction. It combines tableau building and deduction elements with its unique winning mechanism. This is a game of great tension with no-down time, that’s fast to learn. Its distinctive artwork and character names will make you smile.

—description from designer

It is the late 26th century. Earth is recovering from a catastrophic explosion that exterminated the majority of the population centuries ago and made most of the surface uninhabitable due to unearthly weather conditions. The surviving humans organized along four radically different ideologies, called Paths, to rebuild the world as they see fit: Harmony, Dominance, Progress, and Salvation. Followers of the four Paths live in a fragile peace, but in almost complete isolation next to each other. Their only meeting point is the last major city on Earth, now just known as the Capital.

By powering up the mysterious Time Rifts that opened in the wake of the cataclysm, each Path is able to reach back to specific moments in their past. Doing so can greatly speed up their progress, but too much meddling may endanger the time-space continuum. But progress is more important than ever before: if the mysterious message arriving through the Time Rift is to be believed, an even more terrible cataclysm is looming on the horizon: an asteroid bearing the mysterious substance called Neutronium is heading towards Earth. Even stranger, the scientists show that the energy signature of the asteroid matches the explosion centuries ago...

Anachrony features a unique two-tiered worker placement system. To travel to the Capital or venture out to the devastated areas for resources, players need not only various specialists (Engineers, Scientists, Administrators, and Geniuses) but also Exosuits to protect and enhance them — and both are in short supply.

The game is played in 4-7 turns, depending on the time when the looming cataclysm occurs — unless, of course, it is averted! The elapsed turns are measured on a dynamic timeline. By powering up the Time Rifts, players can reach back to earlier turns to supply their past "self" with resources. Each Path has a vastly different objective that rewards it with a massive amount of victory points when achieved. The Paths' settlements will survive the impact, but the Capital will not. Whichever Path manages to collect most points will be the new seat for the Capital, thus the most important force left on the planet...